Government already has concessions timetable, Wong says

Sunday 4th of March 2018

The Macau government already has a timetable for new gaming concession public tenders, but has not yet provided operators with more details, Sands China President Wilfred Wong was cited as saying by local media.

“Every one of us is eagerly waiting for the government to announce the details and I believe they are now working on it. We have been told that the government itself has a timetable but they’re not telling us exactly when,” he told reporters after a speech at the University of Macau.

Sands’ concession is set to expire in 2022. The company owns the Venetian Macau, The Parisian Macau and Sands Cotai Central, dominating the central part of the Cotai Strip.

Wong said he is “confident” that the group has done “everything” the Macau Government has asked it to do in terms of the future development of the local economy by developing “more non-gaming facilities” and placing “more investment in MICE.

The first of Macau’s gaming concessions -- those of SJM Holdings and MGM China -- are set to expire in 2020. With the deadline looming, operators have been seeking clarity from the government, which late last year said mid-2018 may be an “appropriate” time to provide details.

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